Moving Quickly - A Guide for Beginners

Moving house is one of the toughest tasks in a person's life. It is a lengthy process which takes a lot of effort, money and careful planning. Even if you are only tackling a local move, you can't just decide to move, pack and leave. There are about a hundred tasks you need to plan and sort out before you can lock the door on your previous home and leave it behind you. Most people attempt to complete a move quickly, but it rarely works out like that. However, if you need to relocate because of a job or because your contract with the landlord has ended and you actually need to relocate quickly, there are many things you should consider.

The first thing is discussing the relocation with your spouse and children. It may seem like a small task but it will determine the whole process from then on. Take some time to talk to your family and explain the situation. If you have small children you can expect all kinds of reactions from them. It's even harder if you have teenagers as they tend to put their emotions above all else and it could be hard to even get them to help out. Once you have discussed the situation, you can proceed with the actual preparation. Figure out what kind of relocation you want and whether you have time to do some DIY or perhaps you will need to hire a moving company to do the whole thing. If you have only a few weeks, start doing your research immediately. Get quotes from at least 3-4 moving companies and don't make the cost your top determinant as this rarely turns out well.

Depending on the size of your removal, there will be companies that can offer you a great service - a local moving company or a man-and-van (for a smaller move). If you live in a big house then you will most likely have lots of belongings to pack. Keep in mind that packing and unpacking are the two most time-consuming processes and they need careful preparation. If you can't afford to pay to hire professional packers, then you'd better take the inventory of the entire household as soon as possible and do a detailed checklist. After that you can estimate how much packing materials you will need. The basic packing materials that you can't do without include: many boxes of different sizes (sturdy, sealable boxes for packing heavy and light items, which you can label), rolls of bubble wrap (for packing fragile and small items before putting them in boxes or bags), newspaper or plain paper (for cushioning inside the boxes), moving blankets (for moving heavy furniture and large appliances), packing tape (for sealing the boxes and keeping smaller items together), bags, any special boxes (for glassware and china, for paintings, for electronics, etc.).

You can get the boxes and other packing supplies in one lot and may be able to get a really good discount. It's best to have extra supplies than to run out of material in the middle of the packing process. Pack box by box and room by room and try to keep similar items in one box. Tick the inventory on the list and keep track of what's been packed and labelled.

Completing a quick move is not as hard as you think, as long as you plan it well in advance and allow enough time for packing and the actual moving process.